Chad Rocks! Air Box Mod Pix and Quick Shifter Notes with Tyga Rear Sets

[octaneguy]

Just wanted to say thank you to Chad for the incredible support and for helping us little guys squeeze out the most performance from their bikes. Installing the Power Commander V wasn't the easiest mod I've done, but I knew going into it, it would be involved having seen the videos on the install. Because I installed my frame sliders previously, taking off the fairings wasn't such a big deal. The actual install of connecting the PCV wasn't difficult but finding the right connectors took some effort and was a little intimidating at first, but YouTube helped a great deal. I have Tyga rear sets set up in GP mode and the stock Tyga shift rod was too long to use with the Quick Shifter. Turns out the OEM shift rod that came with my RC390 could be used and I only had to cut about half the threads on each end. With some careful cutting with my Dremel tool and a cut off wheel, and generous use of Loctite, it all worked out fine.

Airbox Lid Mod

Remove 4 screws from bottom

Heat glued joint and cut with a knife or flat bladed screw driver to score glued area

Carefully separate halves

Lid separated

Bolt lid back in place with K&N filter bought from Chad

Installing the Quick Shifter required a bit of work because the stock Tyga Shifter Rod is too long and I didn't have the means to cut it down and thread it. But I discovered the OEM shift rod that came with my RC390 was short enough and the threads could be trimmed. I had to remove the nuts so I just cut and adjusted the lengths and loc-tited in place.

Being Mac Based, the DynoJet software requires Windows. Fortunately I bought an RCA Windows Tablet previously that has a USB port for $100. It worked flawlessly.

 

[Deleted member 452]

Great info on the quick shifter install. I removed the top of my airbox and noticed the open plastic frame flexes a lot more so the air filter may not seal completely. I bought the MNNTHBX aluminum cover to to be safe but it's a little loose on the top and heavier so I think I may go back to using the OEM lid W/cover removed.

 

[Grove]

Great info on the quick shifter install. I removed the top of my airbox and noticed the open plastic frame flexes a lot more so the air filter may not seal completely. I bought the MNNTHBX aluminum cover to to be safe but it's a little loose on the top and heavier so I think I may go back to using the OEM lid W/cover removed.

I saw someone on the Internet who glued a piece of mosquito screen/ mesh to that OEM airbox piece.

His intention was to keep bigger pieces of debris out with an open airbox.

Glue was probably not needed for him (just screwing it on would have kept the mesh in place). But that combination might have a secondary benefit for you to keep things coming in from the side due to flex?

 

[octaneguy]

Great info on the quick shifter install. I removed the top of my airbox and noticed the open plastic frame flexes a lot more so the air filter may not seal completely. I bought the MNNTHBX aluminum cover to to be safe but it's a little loose on the top and heavier so I think I may go back to using the OEM lid W/cover removed.

I almost went that way as well but decided to try modding this first. It only took about 15 minutes of heating, scoring, and pulling before it came apart. Of course it seals very tight. The Quick Shifter is amazing. Finally got a chance to take a ride and honestly the first few shifts without the clutch was a little scary only because I wasn't sure if it would work lol. But amazingly it felt great and accelerated so hard and fast not having to roll off the throttle first. I think I might have a chance against the bigger bikes on the track now. While I don't have the funds now, I'm going to follow Chads footsteps and max out the HP of my little RC over the next year.

 

[Deleted member 452]

I almost went that way as well but decided to try modding this first. It only took about 15 minutes of heating, scoring, and pulling before it came apart. Of course it seals very tight. The Quick Shifter is amazing. Finally got a chance to take a ride and honestly the first few shifts without the clutch was a little scary only because I wasn't sure if it would work lol. But amazingly it felt great and accelerated so hard and fast not having to roll off the throttle first. I think I might have a chance against the bigger bikes on the track now. While I don't have the funds now, I'm going to follow Chads footsteps and max out the HP of my little RC over the next year.

You can't go wrong with Chad & Cody at Welcome to KTM Performance

 

[Deleted member 452]

I saw someone on the Internet who glued a piece of mosquito screen/ mesh to that OEM airbox piece.

His intention was to keep bigger pieces of debris out with an open airbox.

Glue was probably not needed for him (just screwing it on would have kept the mesh in place). But that combination might have a secondary benefit for you to keep things coming in from the side due to flex?

The flexing is up & down more than side to side so I could glue some small plastic beams on top of the left & right sides for support...

 

[octaneguy]

Here are some details on the Quick Shifter Install:

This is the stock Tyga shift rod set up in GP mode.

Here is the Quick Shifter Sensor

I pulled the front sprocket cover off so I could route the sensor wire

Looking at how much I would need to trim off the stock Tyga rod, there was no way I could just trim the threaded ends and make this short enough.

I removed the rod and measured it, course before I removed it, I measured the distance of the pedal to the ground and also taped it into place.

When I first heard about someone trimming the stock rod to fit, I wondered if they meant the stock OEM RC390 rod versus the stock Tyga rod, so low and behold, the stock rod is a lot shorter. Short enough to be able to trim the threads and make it fit! The blue line marks how much I had to trim off each end. I used a Dremel with a cut off wheel. I left a nut in place so I could back it over the cut threads to make sure the threads still worked. I ended up removing the nuts so I could have more adjustment. Turns out I could make the final adjustments with the threads on the sensor for alignment.

And here is the final pic with the rod in place, sensor adjusted so the wire is out of the way and zip tied. Compared to installing the PCV, this was a breeze to install.

 

[octaneguy]

I just did my first track day at Chuckwalla with these mods and I have to say I'm blown away. The extra power was amazing. Compared to my last track day without the mods, the performance improvement was night and day. Normally I have trouble keeping up with riders on faster bikes but this definitely closed the gap a bit. The Quick Shifter is a Must Do Mod. I had such a blast.

 

[octaneguy]

Just wanted to do a followup post since it's been 3 months since I did the QS and PCV. Along with Chad's tune has been the best mod for my bike. I pull away at stoplights so fast at WOT banging down through the gears (GP shift), everyone is just a spec in my mirror as I get to the next light lol. I've done 3 track days since doing the mods and love it. Everyone with an RC should be doing this..well maybe not the ones I'm doing track days with lol.

 

[edderz 33]

Is there a huge different with the open lid airbox? any significant change in mapping or we still can run with the current map?
of course to be safe, remap is needed.

 

[octaneguy]

Just do it all at once--open lid airbox and and PCv. It sounds meaner without the lid and a Chad's tune makes everything come alive and work cohesively.

Is there a huge different with the open lid airbox? any significant change in mapping or we still can run with the current map?
of course to be safe, remap is needed.

 

[Deleted member 452]

I agree with Octaneguy.

 

[cjwell]

Is there a huge different with the open lid airbox? any significant change in mapping or we still can run with the current map?
of course to be safe, remap is needed.

There is a huge mapping difference for open lid.